Glory Days
by S V U -B E N S O N -4 0 1 5
Summary: A story about our fellow SVU detectives(and more) in their junior year of high school. Teenage drama, love, tears, and of course, a little fun. A/T C/D F/M. A/U set now. Eventual E/O. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Glory Days**

**SO another new fanfic, one I have big plans with. High school.**

Olivia Benson walked up the steps of her high school, and grimaced. "_A whole new year at this place. Great." _Once she reached the top of the stairs, she cut around the side of the school, and rushed to the secluded patch of grass beneath the two Birchwood trees. She looked around and sighed. "_First one here, as usual" _She knew that she shouldn't be in such a bad mood for the first day of school, but her mother had forgotten, once again, to pick up the car from the dealership. She had wrecked it a week ago driving drunk, and actually had to spend a night in jail. Then of course, she didn't bother to pick the car up, so Olivia had to walk the two miles to school. Normally she wouldn't have minded, if she hadn't put the energy into actually looking good. She sighed, and snapped out of her thoughts, to realize she was still standing under the trees. For a second she panicked, thinking that this year they were meeting in a new place, but her fears subsided when she saw the familiar smiling face rushing towards her.

"Liv! Liv!" the blonde yelled her name, and rushed over to hug Olivia. "I missed you so much! Can you believe we're juniors this year?! This is so crazy! Where is everyone? They should be here by now!" The blonde squealed, looked down at her phone, and slightly frowned at the time, but looked back up and smiled.

"Oh, Al, I missed you too!" Olivia laughed and smiled, thinking about how excited the blonde was. Alex Cabot was always off on some tangent, happy and giggling to angry and mad in the same second. And Olivia loved it.

"Seriously though. Case and Mel should be here by now, and where the hell is Trevor? Not to mention Fin, Dean, and…" she wiggled her eyebrows at Olivia, and winked. "Elllliiioooottt"

Olivia tried to hide the blush that came to her face, but she couldn't help it. "Yeah, I don't know where anyone is." She decided to ignore Alex's suggestive comments, and look for her friends. "Jeez, they're still not here, and class starts in 10 minutes! I swear, if I don't see them and compare classes I'm kill them!" Olivia said. Just as she finished her thought, loud shouting and yelling filled the air, and she turned around, only to see 6 people jump on her at once.

"Ok guys, I missed you too," Olivia laughed, and pushed them off of her. "Wow, ok, I feel like I haven't seen you guys in years! Wow, Mel! Did you straighten your hair?"

"We haven't seen each other all together in 3 months, and you talk about Melinda's hair?" The smiling voice reached her ears and before she could even get a smile out, two strong hands spun her around, and she was met with two startling blue eyes. "Hey Liv, we missed you" he said, and she could feel herself melting on spot. What she would give to be his girlfriend. She felt a large pang of jealousy of Kathy hit her, but she pushed it down and smiled. "Hey El."

"Wow Liv, you look great! I didn't think it was possible that you could get even prettier, but you did, which is totally not fair to the rest of us." Casey spoke up, and Olivia rushed over to her and hugged her. "I missed you so much Case! And OHMYGOD! You hair! It's not red anymore! You dyed it blonde! It looks great! Wow I love it!" Olivia screeched, fingering Casey's hair and smiling.

"Are you sure? It's such a big change, I don't know…" Casey trailed off, uncertainly running her hands through her hair.

"It looks great, trust us," said Melinda, and they all went quiet for a minute, just looking at each other. It had been a long three months, with all their schedules overlapping; there was no time to see each other. Olivia looked over at everyone, and gave a small smile. Trevor had his water polo bag in one hand, and was holding Alex's in the other. Dean stood there staring at Casey, giving a sheepish smile and shuffling his feet. Fin had one arm around Melinda, and the other holding his football helmet. Melinda, like usual, was gorgeous, and Alex was laughing at something Trevor said. Casey was talking to Olivia, not that she was paying attention. She couldn't think when her eyes drifted to Elliot. He stood tall, with his football helmet in one hand, and his other hand stuffed in his pocket. He was talking to Fin about some football thing, and before she could think anymore, she felt Casey slightly tug on her sweater.

"So anyways, I think maybe I should go for it. I am pretty sure the feelings are mutual, but you know, it could be awkward cause we're friends." Casey said, and Olivia glanced over

"What do you think you should go for?" said Olivia

Casey swatted her arm and frowned, "C'mon Liv, this is important." She lowered her voice to a whisper and spoke into her ear, "Dean. I think I should go for it"

"You and Dean? Aww I bet y—" Olivia was cut off by the loud friendly voice.

"Hey, are we done whispering and talking in little groups? Dude I haven't seen you all in 3 months!" said Fin, and they all laughed. Before they knew it they were all hugging each other again, finally realizing that it was the first day and they were all juniors.

"I can't believe we are all still here and all still friends after two years of this hellhole" Trevor joked.

"I know right, I mean god, if I had to spend all my time alone…:freshman year would have been awful," Dean piped up.

"Have you guys seen anyone else yet? I heard that Meagan Kirch got a really bad perm, and her hair looks like a poodle!" Fin cut in. They all laughed again.

"Did you see Kathy yet?" asked Trevor, his attention turning towards Elliot.

'"Yeah, I saw her. She bitched about her parents not letting her drive to school today, so I just decided to come here" smiled Elliot, as he rolled his eyes. He cautiously looked at Olivia, but her expression was unreadable. He grimaced, and wished that Trevor hadn't brought it up. "Yeah, well…Liv, I hear you have been holding out on us." said Elliot.

"What does he mean, holding out on us? You pregnant? Boyfriend?" Fin joked.

"What is he talking about? Liv, what is he talking about?" asked Alex, excitedly.

"I don't know," said Olivia, and she was confused. She couldn't remember anything important that had happened to her, "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked Elliot

"Liv! You made varsity volleyball! **I **thought it was a big deal!" He said the words excitedly, and immediately the other six people started cheering, while Olivia rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Wow, good job Liv! That's awesome!" said Melinda, running over and hugging her. She was met with a chorus of other hugs, and she smiled.

"Thanks guys, but I mean, what about the boys? Fin and Elliot are on varsity football, AGAIN. And Trevor's on the water polo team! Dean of course just had to become president of computer club. Melinda pretty much has early admission to NYU in biology. And don't get me started on Alex and Casey being co-presidents of debate club. God I'm surrounded by over-achievers." Everyone laughed, and shook their heads. They were a weird bunch of people, so different, but also so much the same. Olivia once again got lost in her thoughts, only to be interrupted by the loud ring of the bell.

"SHIT! We forgot to compare classes!" Fin yelled.

"Guess we'll just have to find out!" Alex called

"Ok guys, meet here for lunch, just like usual?" Olivia asked.

"You bet," Elliot said, with a wink. And with that, they all headed off in different directions, trying to find their lockers and struggling with their schedules. Olivia looked down on her paper, and threw her head back. _Are you kidding me? Physics first? This school is trying to kill me_. She threw her paper back in the bag, and hurried to the class. She walked in the door and made a beeline for an open desk, only realizing when she looked up she was right next to Elliot. "We actually have a class together this year?" Olivia said, with a smile.

"Ooooh Benson, this is gonna be exciting. Obviously you're going to do all the work, and I'm going to sit here and look pretty," he said, batting his eyelashes.

"Oh you wish," she smirked, punching him in the shoulder. Her smirk grew bigger, when she saw him slightly wince.

"Damnit, how many times have I told you, violence is not the answer!" Elliot said, sending her a joking glare.

"Violence isn't the answer, it's the question, the answer is yes," she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out. She turned her attention right back to the front as the teacher began addressing the class. He droned on and on about lab safety, and she sighed. It was going to be a long day. She sent a quick glance at Elliot, and noticed he was already looking at her. She smiled to herself; it was going to be a very good, very long day.

**Ok, so the storyline is a little messy right now, but I swear it will improve! So, what are the relationship statuses in the group? Is Elliot happy with his relationship with Kathy? Will Casey make a move on Dean? Find out more**** :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Still building the story. Hope you guys enjoy. Warning, some violent scenes following.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these perfect characters, and if I did, Elliot and Olivia would be together long ago. But thanks for 12 years of teasing, Dick Wolf.**

After having first period of physics with Eliot, who had made Olivia laugh so hard the teacher had to tell them to be quiet 3 times, she had had P.E.. She had been happy to realize Elliot, as well as Casey and Trevor were in that class, and after that she had had English. She shared English with Dean and Melinda, although as soon as she sat down next to them and started talking, the English teacher separated them to opposite sides of the room. Finally, the period before lunch, she had Spanish. She was ecstatic to see Alex, Casey, and Melinda in that class, and they had all managed to get the back row of the seats together.

Finally the bell rang, and they all rushed to lunch together, laughing about the way Fin looked when he threw a football. They went to the cafeteria quickly, grabbed food, and walked their way around the school to the same patch of grass.

Olivia smiled when she saw the giant blanket, and Elliot patting the spot next to him. She almost choked however, when she saw Kathy on the other side of him, sending her a glare. She gulped quickly and decided to sit next to Alex instead, across from Elliot.

"Hey guys, I thought it was time I invited Kathy to sit with us…" Elliot said uncertainly. He tried giving them looks to be nice, but everyone either shrugged or glared. Elliot tried to meet Olivia's eyes, but she wasn't looking at him. In fact, she was looking everywhere but him. He sighed, and tuned back in to something Kathy was saying about her new teachers.

"Guys I'm so happy I have classes with you! P.E. is going to be the best! And Spanish…" Olivia winked at the girls, and they all giggled.

"Oh god, Senora Diaz is going to hate us so much." Casey said, through a mouthful of food.

"Ew gross, cover your mouth. Noone wants to see the remains of Fish Surprise! It looks bad enough on the plate!" Alex said, wrinkling her nose. She looked down on her plate and fake gagged, earning a chorus of laughs from the rest of the group.

"Aw Liv, I'm bummed we don't have Math together. Last year you did all the work. I actually have to try this year, and my teacher already hates me." Fin cried out, and Olivia giggled.

"Aw poor you… Actually having to do your homework? That sounds awful." Said Olivia, sarcastically. She gave Fin a giant fake smile, and he chucked a piece of lettuce at her.

"Yeah well, at least some of you have classes with each other. So far, I have had no-one in the group. The only person who keeps showing up is Meagan and her weird-ass hair. That is not something I want to see everyday." said Dean, and they all laughed again.

Trevor slapped Dean on the back, and spoke up. "Well don't worry yet man, we still have three more periods. Take out your schedule, lets see."

Dean pulled it out, and Fin and Elliot glanced over. "See, I have math and drama with you" said Elliot. "Ooh same, I have drama too," Fin said, and they realized Trevor did as well.

Soon the rest of them were pulling out their schedules and comparing the rest of the day, to find out they all had drama together. Except one person. They awkwardly glanced over at Kathy who turned her nose up and said, "Yeah, I wanted to do something more important than drama, so I took art. Although I have it the same period as you guys. Hey babe, you should switch into my class." She declared, looking at Elliot.

Elliot looked at all the others who were trying their best not to roll their eyes, and then looked at Kathy who was looking at him expectantly. "I don't know Kath, I kind of like drama…" he trailed off, and looked down.

"Well do whatever you want. I was just suggesting, since so far, we have only had third period math together," Kathy sniped, and glared at Elliot. Elliot just shrugged sheepishly and looked toward his friends, willing someone to say something.

"Yeah so anyways. I have P.E. with Alex, Dean, and you," Fin said, looking over at Melinda. "You ready for me to kick your ass in volleyball?" Fin said to Dean.

"I don't know man, have you seen my spike? People are scared to be on the other side of it" Dean laughed, and Fin just shook his head."Guess we'll find out tomorrow"

"Are you guys doing volleyball unit too?" Alex asked, and Casey nodded her head. "Yeah, believe it or not, I actually have Trevor, Elliot, and Liv in my class." said Casey.

Kathy glared when she heard this, and shot Olivia a nasty look.

"Oh Elliot your ass is gonna be toast. Liv's got a nasty serve," Trevor laughed.

They continued talking until the bell rang, and all headed their separate ways to class. After enduring two more periods, their moods improved when they walked into could believe that all eight of them had been in the same class this year. That had never happened before, and they were excited too, because it was a fun class.

They all sat down in the theater, and after 45 minutes their bell rang. That was it. Their first day of school over and done with. They couldn't believe it went by so quickly, and they all said goodbye and went separate ways.

There were no practices for any sport on the first day, so as usual, Elliot and Olivia began their walk home. Every day for two years they had done this: catching up and making jokes as they walked the two miles home. These were the parts of her days Olivia had looked forward to most. On special days, they would walk the other way to a Starbucks or a café and sit down and help each other study. They understood that neither of them wanted to go back to each other's houses, preferring each other's company.

"Hey Stabler" Olivia said with a grin, and he smiled and walked over. "What's up Liv?" he asked, as they started walking. Before she could answer, he cut in.

"Oh by the way, you can come over today, my mom picked up a shift at the hospital, so you know…?" Elliot looked over at her, secretly hiding how much he wanted her to come.

They would often go to each other's houses, but usually it was Olivia's, because her mother was out getting wasted or teaching an extra class. Whenever Serena Benson was home though, Elliot would either beg her to come over to his house, or try to stay and protect Olivia. She would always muster up a fake smile, and tell Elliot to leave before her mother saw him. Bernie Stabler on the other hand, loved Olivia, but when she went crazy or weird, Elliot would get embarrassed and would usher Olivia out the front door.

"Sure," said Olivia. "Beats going back to my place," she smiled, and Elliot smiled back. "I'm glad I'm so loved," Elliot fake pouted, and Olivia laughed. "Don't worry, I do," she said. Just as she realized she let that slip, she froze. She couldn't believe she had just done that.

Elliot had stopped too, and looked at her. He knew he had to say something so she wouldn't freak out. "I do too" he said, and he quickly looked up, assessing her reaction. Her face changed: he saw her eyes light up, and the corners of her lips tug up, but she tried to hide it.

"Aw is someone getting mushy?" she teased, and he let out a much-needed laugh. The previous tension was gone in a second, but the thought stayed in both their heads, no matter how much they tried to not think about it.

Olivia walked through her front door two hours later, facing an angry Serena at the other side. She gulped and tried to run upstairs, but Serena angrily spoke out. "Why are you home so late? HUH? School ended two hours ago!"

"I was at Elliot's" Olivia whispered, and backed against the door as Serena came closer. "We were doing our physics homework" Olivia was scared.

Usually her mother was so drunk she would pass out when she got home, which was around 10 o clock. Olivia preferred it like that. By the time she woke up the next morning she would be apologetic, and would tell her she was going to fix that problem. It was routine. But on days she came home early…Olivia winced. Memories of pain washed over her, and she took a sharp breath.

"You lying whore! I know what you were really doing! Probably prancing around with that boyfriend! Were you having sex? I know you were, I can tell! Don't lie to me!" Serena screeched and yelled, and came closer. That's when the bottle came into view, clutched in Serena's hand. Olivia's eyes widened. Bruises are easy to hide, but cuts?

"He's not my boyfriend mom! He's my friend. I still have homework to do, please…" she trailed off, and looked back up to see Serena even closer.

"I said DON'T LIE TO ME!" Serena shouted, and Olivia tried to duck as she furiously threw the bottle at Olivia's head. She wasn't fast enough though, and the edge caught her cheek. Olivia gasped in pain, and brought her hand up to meet the large cut. Her face was bleeding and tears escaped her eyes.

"I DON'T LIKE LIARS" she screamed again, and kicked Olivia. Olivia cried out and fell against the door, shielding her face as Serena came closer. She kicked her twice more, and as Olivia screamed and slumped down, she landed one final blow on the other side of her face. Olivia cried out, and just as soon as Serena was in her face, she left. Just went out the door.

Olivia felt the tears sting her cut as they fell down her face, and she heard the car engine run outside. She tried to pull herself up, and weakly limped to the window to see her mother leave. She cried harder and harder, and walked over to the phone. She nervously grabbed it off the jack, and dialed the all-too familiar number.

"Liv? What's wrong? Did you leave something at my house?" Elliot asked. All he heard on the other side was deep heaving breaths. It sounded like someone was crying. "Liv? You're scaring me!?"

"El" he heard her hoarse whisper, and his stomach dropped. He knew something was horribly wrong. He rushed out of his house, grabbing his jacket and running the two blocks to her home. He frantically pounded on the door, all the while keeping the phone on his ear. He heard a small bump, and saw the door open, slowly. When his eyes met her, he went white.

He took in the harsh gash on her cheek, and the newly forming, giant bruise on her other cheek. He was the bumps on her head, and saw the blood trickling down her legs. He gasped when he took in the bruises on her legs, and saw the handprint bruise on her arm.

"Olivia? What did she do?" Elliot frantically asked, meanwhile pulling her towards him. Before she could say another word, she was in his arms, and he was walking into her house. He took in the shattered bottle on the floor and closed his eyes. He felt the anger building inside of him, but he quenched it for the sake of Olivia. He gingerly walked up the stairs to her room, and set her down on her bed. She weakly looked at him, and his heart broke. "Why, Liv?" he asked, a tear slipping down his cheek.

She didn't know what to say. All she could think about was the pain in her cheek and how strong he was when he carried her. She felt another tear slip down her cheek, and shook her head. "She was angry that I was home late. She thinks that we were doing…things," she said, and saw a flash of something unrecognizable in his eyes.

He couldn't believe it. It was his fault. He just had to invite her over. He closed his eyes, and knew that if he didn't calm down, he would explode in anger. Serena Benson would have found any reason to get violent against her daughter. Just today, she made it about him. He shook the thoughts away, and set Olivia up.

"Here I want you to take a shower, and then we can go down to Mercy General. " Before Olivia could object, he spoke again, "Just shower. Don't worry. We can talk about the second thing after." He helped her up, and walked her to the bathroom.

She went inside, and shut the door. She softly cried, and struggled to take her shirt off. But she couldn't. "Elliot" she called out, and immediately he opened the door.

"Are you ok? Do you need help?" he asked, and she nodded. He took a deep breath, and willed himself not to look. He slowly pulled her shirt over her head, and tried with all his might not to look down. But he couldn't help it. He quickly glanced down, and felt himself start to react.

He cleared his throat, and spoke up. "Do you need anymore help?" he asked. Part of him really wanted her to say yes, but the good part of him told him to not wish that. When she nodded, he gave her a look that said "_are you sure" _

"Don't worry. You don't have to, I think I can take my jeans off," she muttered. But as soon as she bent down, she winced. He replaced his hand with hers, and looked once more into her eyes. She nodded, so he unbuttoned the pants, and unzipped.

He held his breath and did his best to look away, but once again, he couldn't stop the reaction he was getting. He hoped she wouldn't notice his pants getting tight, and when he finally pulled the pants down, he sighed in relief.

She stood up, and he took in her long legs, tan stomach, and...he willed the thoughts away. It wasn't until he looked closer that he noticed the old bruises, some yellow, some a pale green, all covered up. He once again let another tear slip, but he quickly wiped his eyes and opened the door. "I'm right here if you need me," he said, and quickly left the bathroom.

She quickly took off her underwear and bra, and stepped into the hot water. She wasn't sure what exactly had just happened, but the small details didn't escape her. She had noticed why Elliot shifted in his jeans. Despite the horrible things that had happened today, she couldn't help but feel a little smug that she had caused that. Before she could let herself feel any better, the water ran down her cheek, and she winced. The water hitting the cut stung like crazy. She gulped, and then unashamedly started sobbing. The water from the shower and her tears mixed together and swirled down the drain. She worried about later.

On the other side of the door, Elliot had his back against the wall, and his head thrown back. He was angry, sad, sorry, and turned-on at the same moment. He thumped his head against the wall once, and slid down. He rested his head in his hands and pulled his knees up. What had happened today would change everything.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok guys, I'm updating as often as I can with this new fanfic, but don't worry about the other ones, updates are coming soon. And also don't worry about this one, it will get happier. **

**Disclaimer: The SVU characters aren't mine, but if they were I would make them do a show everynight. : )**

Olivia gingerly got out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She glanced at herself in the mirror, and grimaced . Her eyes raked over her body; the bruises on her arms and legs more defined, and the cut bright red. She carefully ran her fingers over the bruise on her other cheek, and winced. She took a deep breath, and went to the door.

Elliot heard the shower stop, and quickly got up off the floor and walked into her room. He gazed over her small 4-wall bedroom, and softly smiled.

The bed sat in the corner, a double, and a small nightstand with books piled on top was next to it. On the walls above her bed there was a whiteboard, and pictures plastered on a corkboard. He looked closer at the whiteboard, and noticed that it was full of quotes. He smiled as he read them, and then turned his attention to the corkboard.

There were pictures of her with the girls, some with the entire group, and…he looked closer. One picture of them, just them. He saw the incredibly large, bright smile on Olivia's face, and the one plastered on his as well.

He remembered that day, about a year ago. It was his first touchdown. Homecoming game. He remembered how happy everyone was for him, and how ecstatic he was for himself. He remembered how the eight of them had gone out to ice cream to celebrate, and then split off different ways. He and Olivia had walked the rest of the way home, laughing and just talking. Really talking. They had been so wrapped up in the moment, that neither realized he had his arm on her shoulder. An old woman had asked them if they wanted a picture.

He had given her his phone, and right before she took the picture, she had said, _"You two make such and adorable couple. Really warms my heart" _They had looked at each other, and burst out laughing. She caught them, turned towards each other, mouths wide, heads slightly thrown-back, his arm draped lazily across her shoulder. His football helmet in one hand, his uniform making his body look huge. She had on her big sweatshirt, and a war stripe on both cheeks, her hair pulled back into a sloppy bun. Just the two of them, looking at each other on what he could remember was the happiest he had ever been. He didn't realize how long he had been staring at the picture, until he heard a voice clearing behind him.

"Oh sorry, I can leave so you can change," he said, hastily getting off the bed and moving towards the door.

"Do you remember that day?" she asked, ignoring him. He nodded, and a soft smile crossed her face.

"Happiest day of my life." They said the line simultaneously, and sharply glanced at each other, their features softening. She smiled, and he let out a small laugh.

"I guess we really are best friends," he said, sticking his tongue out.

"You know it," she smiled, and he moved towards the door, giving her privacy.

A half hour later she went downstairs, to find the bottle shards cleaned up and the stench of alcohol gone. She saw him sitting on the couch, some football game playing on the T.V. He jumped up off the couch when he saw her, and rushed to her aid.

"I'm fine El, really. Don't worry about it," she said, as she swatted his attempts to help her.

"Listen Liv, I really think we need to call the cops. It-it just keeps getting worse, and I know you think that she's sorry, and doesn't mean it, but that doesn't change the fact that she hurts you, and I- I just can't let this happen anymore. Last time, it was just two punches. What's next, huh? It's not going to stop…" he was getting angrier by the minute, and he was suddenly standing.

"She's not going to stop until-until something really bad happens. And then it will be too late. I CAN'T LET YOU DO THIS ANYMORE! You can't keep forgiving her! She's going to kill you! IT HAS TO STOP, AND IT HAS TO STOP NOW. I can't bear to see you like this. Please Liv." He said, and there was a long pause.

"Please" he whispered, and this time, he couldn't stop the tears from slipping out of his eyes.

He looked up, to see tears coming down her face, and he carefully used his thumbs to wipe them away. "Don't cry. Please don't cry." He said.

She sniffled, took a deep breath, and nodded. She knew what she had to do

A couple hours later, Elliot and Olivia emerged from the precinct, worn-out and exhausted. Olivia had endured three long hours of questions regarding her mother, a topic she hated thinking about, much less talking about. The reliving was the worst part. Having to recount the numerous events in which her mother had caused her physical and emotional pain was almost too much to bear. And yet, a deep relief had flooded through her that she was finally voicing the years of abuse. It didn't hurt that Elliot was there either, although sometimes she wished he hadn't come. She didn't want the pity. Even though Elliot knew about the abuse, she had never gone into detail about the specific memories. He had always assumed that she could handle it, and for the most part she could. But when she had told the officer about a particular event that happened three years ago, she seemed to take on a different state.

"I was 13 years old. It had been an unusually peaceful week at my house, which is why I was on edge." she started

_Olivia walked in the door, and slung her backpack down. Her history test was harder than usual, and all she wanted to do was finish homework so she could watch some T.V.. A loud crash from the kitchen jolted her, and she cautiously walked to the sound._

"_Mom? Is that you?" Olivia called, bracing herself for the worst. Her mother came into view, and looked at Olivia._

"_You. This is all your fault." Serena spoke slowly and carefully, and when her eyes met Olivia's, she saw a fire and rage she had never seen before. And it scared her._

"_Mom? I think you need to lie down. I can get you some water? Or make you a snack?" Olivia quietly pleaded, hoping this would end the easy way._

"_You just had to look like him. YOU. YOU ARE THE REASON I'M LIKE THIS!" Serena yelled, and Olivia slunk back, her eyes dropping to the floor out of guilt and fear. _

_"I don't even know why I kept you. ALL you are is a constant reminder of the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Besides your birth, of course." Serena snarled, and Olivia felt the sting behind her eyes that let her know she was about to cry. She willed it away, and backed up a little more._

"_DON'T THINK ABOUT BACKING AWAY! IM TALKING TO YOU YOUNG LADY! COME HERE!" Serena shouted, roughly grabbing Olivia's arm and yanking her forward. Serena bent down, retrieving the object that was the source of the crash Olivia heard earlier. She picked up the pan, and in one act of wild rage hit Olivia across the face. _

_She felt her jaw break, and she cried out, loudly. Before she knew it, Serena was upon her, pounding with fists. Olivia kicked wildly, her foot connecting with Serena's stomach. That's what did it. Once again Serena let out a scream, and lunged toward her, using a strength Olivia had never seen. Serena grabbed the pan and hit Olivia, again and again and again until all she saw was black. Just black._

"She told the people at the Emergency Room that I had gotten in a car accident. No-one believed her, but when they asked me if it was true, I said yes. I didn't know what else to do," Olivia said. The officer had given her a sympathetic look, patted her hand, and stopped the questioning. He had said she could finish up tomorrow, and he said that once they finished the questioning, they would haul her mother in.

"I'm tired" she told Elliot, and she gave a yawn as if to prove her point.

"Well, I called my mom, and she said you can stay with us tonight, so don't worry about going back home," he said softly. She gave him a smile, and was greatly relieved. She didn't want to go back to her house, especially with the possibility of her mother being there.

He drove them both home, and entered his house cautiously. He loved his mother, he really did, but it was around this time of night her meds would wear off. Olivia knew all about his mother's disease, but she didn't know what it was like to experience it first-hand. He was relieved however, when his younger sister answered the door, and told him that mom was pulling an extra shift at the doctor's office.

His sister greeted Olivia with a hug, and Olivia smiled. Christina, or Chris, was her favorite out of Elliot's siblings. Chris was adorable, big blue eyes framed by blonde curly hair. She was 8 years old, and filled to the brim with energy. Chris idolized Olivia, and treated her like a big sister, and Olivia thought of her as a little sister.

Chris didn't say a word, or even stare at Olivia's injuries, nor did she ask questions, which made Olivia feel intensely relieved. She didn't want another round of interrogation right now. Instead, Chris ran to the kitchen and came back with a heaping plate of lasagna.

"Here you go Livia!" Chris said, handing her the plate. "I figured you hadn't eaten dinner yet. Usually mom says you can't take food to your room, but I asked her already and she said it's fine!"

Olivia smiled, and looked down on the girl, "Thanks Chris, this looks delicious." With that, she and Elliot trudged upstairs to Elliot's room.

Once they entered Elliot's room, Olivia looked around the familiar surroundings and sat down on the small couch. Nothing had really changed since three months ago, except a couple new pictures here and there, a different poster. The smell of the lasagna on her lap hit her nose, and her stomach growled in anticipation. Without so much as uttering a word, she picked up her fork and started shoveling food in her mouth. She didn't care if she looked like an animal, she was starving.

Elliot watched her and smiled. He refused to let himself think of her as a victim. He knew she would hate it if he saw her like that, so instead, he just saw his best friend who really liked food. The girl who was always just a couple blocks away, the girl who picked her phone up on the first ring, the girl who never bitched or cried about anything unimportant. She had helped him with everything he had problems with: his relationship, his grades, she even threw a football with him when one of the guys weren't around.

He continued to stare on, sliding his gaze over her unbelievably long legs, cut off by athletic shorts. The light gray t-shirt she wore, and her long, loose hair spilling across her shoulders.

For the first time ever, he noticed her body. Not as a friend, but as someone else, someone more. He saw a little more than he should have in the bathroom, and he couldn't help but think about it as he noticed the way her shirt hung to her curves. He felt wrong though, dirty. He had a girlfriend for Christ's sake! "_What am I doing? _" he asked himself, and roughly cleared his throat.

"Hey so I'm going to go set up the guest room and take a shower, so when you're done with the lasagna, you can go in there and get ready for bed." A pause. "You can borrow one of my tshirts and shorts, they're in the top drawer" he said.

"Wait El, before you go. I wanted to say thanks. A lot. Really, if you weren't there, I probably would have never told the police." For the first time tonight she really smiled, and opened her arms. "C'mon, bring it in" she laughed.

"How could I reject that?" he teased, and pulled her up into his arms. They stayed there, his large muscular frame enveloping her thin one, and both held on for a second too long. She pulled her head back, and her eyes met the intensity of his blue ones.

He softly kissed her forehead and without saying anything, abruptly turned around, leaving the room. She just stood still, frozen, wrapping her head around the small gesture of affection, trying to calm her breathing down.

It was only a friendly kiss, right?

**Hope you guys enyjoyed! I have had a lot of time to write because I've been on an airplane! **

**So the story is going to start picking up in pace, as the squad and others head through the exciting life of high school! Drama with Serena, a talk between Olivia and Elliot, and a confrontation between Kathy and Elliot. Find out more, next…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Please review! Sorry I haven't updated recently. Ok I'm thinking about once a week, but if you think it should be more often, PM or comment**

The next morning Olivia rose from her bed, and made her way to the bathroom. For the first time in months she had gotten a decent sleep. She yawned once as she opened the bathroom door, and checked the time. She was immediately taken back. It was 5:30. She usually never woke up this early, but she had gotten a decent rest.

Once she left the bathroom she silently walked downstairs and opened the backdoor. There was a little porch swing on the deck, and she sat down. She hadn't realized she had company until she looked up.

Elliot smiled at her, taking in her slightly shocked expression. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you or anything," he said.

"No its ok, I just didn't expect anyone to be up this early," she said

"Could have said the same thing," he said, and she laughed. She rested her back down, and gazed across the yard, up into the sky. The sun had barely cracked the sky, and the dark sky covered the surroundings like a blanket. The weather was cool, but not freezing, and she shivered slightly and brought her legs up under her.

"Do you always wake up this early?" she asked.

"It's nice, you know. To be up this early. Refreshing, and there's always something new about morning." He said.

"I take that as a yes," she laughed, and he joined her.

"Listen El, I know I said thank you yesterday, but I want to say it again. Really. And I want you to know I don't regret telling you, or going to the cops. I think things are finally looking up," she said, and she looked up into his eyes.

"Don't thank me. It was all you," he said, smiling. His eyes twinkled at her, and she could physically feel herself heating up. She ignored the feeling however, and spoke up again.

"So, how've you been? Yesterday all we talked about was math," she said sticking her tongue out.

"Pretty good. The summer was pretty boring, with the exception of my mother…" he trailed off

Her eyes softened slightly, and she spoke quietly "What happened?" she asked, curious but slightly dreading the answer.

"She went a little…crazy. You know, just tried to shoot me." He said bluntly

She gasped, and for a second her heart stopped. She couldn't imagine life without Elliot Stabler. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she asked, "What happened?"

"She just got in one of her moods, except this time she was angry at my father for working late. Like usual. She was shouting and yelling, and then all of a sudden his gun was in her hand. She was pointing it at me and at him, telling him that if he didn't come home earlier she would shoot me," he said.

"No, Elliot. I'm so sorry!" Liv cried, and immediately rushed over to him. She surprised herself by hugging him; usually they weren't so touchy-feely. The last few days had changed that though.

"It's fine Liv, I didn't take it to heart. You know how she can be," he stated. "All it took was five minutes, and she was off on some other thought, forgetting about the gun in her hand." He said.

"Still El, it's not right. We shouldn't be the ones taking care of our parents. It's not fair!" she yelled, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Hey, don't cry. Only two more years Liv. We have each other and our friends. That's all the matters," he said. He moved over to where she sat on the porch swing, and sat next to her. "Don't worry."

She nodded, and gave him her best smile. They could work through everything. Together.

An hour later, after they changed and got dressed, they met the rest of the family at breakfast. Chris, his younger sister was there, as well as his older sister, Anne, and his younger brother Jake. Anne was a senior, 18 and gorgeous with her straight brown hair and blue eyes. Jake was 13, in eighth grade, and looked a lot like Elliot. His hair was longer though, and blonde, and curled slightly at the ears. Every Stabler had the same blue eyes, and she always thought it was funny how much of a normal, good-looking family they looked. To the outside.

During breakfast no one brought up the bruises on her face, and Olivia was glad. Elliot's father didn't say anything at breakfast, as usual, and left halfway through. Cris chatted in Olivia's ear for the entire meal, and Bernie interrupted every once in a while to ask if she wanted more food.

After breakfast, she and Elliot got in his car and drove to school. She was already exhausted, but her day got increasingly better when she talked to her friends.

She did a good job of covering up the shiner and the cut, but the girls had noticed something was wrong right away. All it took was a period in Spanish for everything to come out.

"Hey Liv, I know you don't want to talk about it right now, but what happened last night?" Melinda asked, worriedly looking over at her.

"My mother was a little tipsy last night. It wasn't that bad," Olivia said. She didn't want to talk about it right now, but she figured she had to answer their questions sooner or later. She chose sooner.

"Olivia, last time it was two bruises, and only one on your face. You have a nasty cut trailing up your entire cheek! What did she do?" Alex asked, frantically trying to keep her voice a whisper, but ultimately failing.

"She threw a bottle at me. Nothing I can't handle," Olivia said, grimacing.

"Oh c'mon Liv. Spare us the tough girl. It's ok to just talk about it," Casey said, sending her a sympathetic look.

"Listen, I wasn't ok last night, but Elliot was there, and actually things turned out better that I expected," Olivia said. She was immediately faced with three grinning faces, and realized her mistake. "No, no, nothing like that. Jesus no! He would never cheat on Kathy," she said, blushing

"Oh c'mon, Liv it's you. I think it's time to make your move," said Melinda. Just then the teacher walked over, and gave them a large glare. "Ladies in the back, could you repeat the last phrase, and tell us what was wrong with the sentence?" Señora Diaz asked.

"Tengo que hago mi tarea" Olivia said. "It's wrong, because the word hago shouldn't be conjugated. It should be, "Tengo que hacer mi tarea. I have to do my homework."

The other three and the teacher all stared at her, and Olivia smiled. "Um yes, that is correct," the Spanish teacher said. The four of them laughed.

"Nice save. I totally thought we were screwed," Casey said, and they all silently laughed.

"Ok, way to get off topic there. You and Elliot! C'mon Liv, it's perfect. You need to go and make your move!" Melinda said

"He's dating Kathy," said Olivia

"So? I swear, he would choose you over her in a heartbeat." Said Melinda

"Well he hasn't yet, has he?" Olivia asked.

"Well no, but maybe you need to start flirting with him. You know, more than a friend," Alex said.

"I don't know guys, I'm not gonna ruin some relationship between him and Kathy. They're happy together." Olivia said

Casey snorted and Alex bit back a laugh. "Happy is not the word I would use. Tense, stressful, abusive. Those come to mind," Alex said.

"Seriously guys, I don't know what to do. I really don't think this is a good idea," said Olivia.

"Well do whatever you want, but as your friends, we say go for it. And go for it with all you got," Casey said.

During lunch, Elliot was distracted and fidgeted. "El, is something wrong?" Olivia asked.

"Kathy just said she had to talk to me, and I don't think she's happy," Elliot said, nervously glancing at his watch. He looked around, and once he noticed her blonde figure making her way over, he shot up and walked down to her.

"Hey Kath, is something wrong?" Elliot asked, and she pulled him aside and looked up at him, her eyebrows glaring.

"Listen Elliot, I'm not happy that you keep spending time with your friends instead of me. We were supposed to go on a date last night, but you blew me off. You didn't even give me a reason. What the hell was that?" Kathy spat

"Olivia needed help, I had to go over – "

"It's always Olivia, isn't it? Olivia this, Olivia that! You spent two goddamn hours with that bitch, and then you suddenly needed to go for more? You might as well just tell me you're cheating!" she yelled furiously.

He took a step back, in shock, but suddenly his anger flared. "You don't know anything about her! How could you? She's a way better person than you are, or could ever be. What we have is over! I never ever want to see you again Kathy, and I swear to god if you ever call Olivia a bitch…" he glared, and didn't finish his sentence before he turned around and marched back.

Kathy called out at him, "This is just a fight, right babe? I didn't mean anything!"

Elliot flipped her the bird, and shouted back at her, "This-this is over Kathy. Get that through your pretty dumb blonde head!"

He returned to the rest of the group to see them staring up at him in shock, and slowly all their faces broke out in smiles. Elliot couldn't help the smile that grew on his face, and he let out a small laugh.

"Dude, that was amazing. You don't need her man, she was a bitch," said Fin, slapping him on the back.

"Yeah she was a nasty slut," said Alex. Everyone looked at Alex, and she sheepishly added, "What? I'm only being honest here," she said. Everyone broke into laughter, and Alex smiled.

"I'm happy for you Elliot. You didn't need her. You have us." Said Casey.

"Well, I don't really want us to be Kathy to him," Trevor said. "No kissing or anything like that," he added, and everyone laughed again.

He looked around the group, and noticed the one person who wasn't laughing. Liv. She had a blank expression on her face, but her eyes were lit up. She was staring off into space, and he went over to her, without her noticing, and whispered, "Boo"

She jumped, and was met with another chorus of laughter. She gave Elliot a dirty look, but smiled anyways. "What was that for?" she asked.

"You're off in your own world. C'mon man, be apart of our group conversation" he said, and she laughed.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how ugly Kathy looks when she yells," Olivia chimed in, and everyone laughed once more.

Elliot smiled, and realized that he wasn't upset about breaking up with Kathy. In fact, he was glad. He didn't feel the weight of her pulling him down all the time, and felt more room to breathe. He took a deep breath and gave a happy sigh, and laid back in the grass. He was finally free.

**So, will there be romance between Elliot and Olivia? Or will he go back to Kathy? And where did Olivia's mother go? Is there a relationship possibility between Dean and Casey? Only you can make the next chapter come. Press that review button, the more reviews I get the faster I type.**


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